AA announces more new destinations from LAX

[topDawg]

No, it was to work for an airline that would be large enough, with enough strategic assets to have a chance at survival in this changed industry. Getting rid of Tommy Boy was just a "Bonus".

AA's fleet is only 100 or so aircraft smaller than DL/UA. The idea that they were too small was a joke.

It is however great for everyone. Consolidation is never a bad thing for the industry.

 

[IORFA]

Don't forget AA's current lack of regional flying. It is smaller when compared to UA/DL. It is also hamstrung with inefficient smaller RJ's compared to the other two. AA is still flying 37 seat RJ's for the time being. I think they should be gone by the end of the year. Also, don't gloss over the relative size of those mainline planes as well. No 747's here. Also, don't gloss over the strategic assets comment. So yes, AA was/is too small.

 

[IORFA]

AA's CASM is lower for now. I would think that with the merger they are going to end up give a nice chunk of the CASM advantage back. (and it could get really ugly once AA's employees get into contract battles without AMR hiding behind a BK judge.)

Oh course, the way it seems the APA and APFA will do well, the TWU or IAM will continue to force Mechanics to take a step back.

CASM should stay relatively stable amongst our peers. APA and APFA should end up with industry STANDARD contracts with new low paid employees. AA is hiring 1500 f/a's this year and is going to offer another early out late this year, early next year. Guessing we'll be lucky to get 500 more. Point being that there will be more hiring soon. US is also offering the same early out to their f/a's around the same time. Sounds like they have more than a few that are interested as well. On the pilot side pilots are running up against the age 65 rule and are leaving as we'll. If I remember correctly, US pilots were the instigators to the rule, so they too must be leaving in large numbers soon as we'll. By in large, the amount of hiring for both work groups will continue into the foreseeable future bringing inboard low paid new hires. Maintenance it seems is leaving so fast that they aren't letting people leave with the early out. They are paid so low in some places that they can't get people to apply unless they offer hire pay. I think Bob said they are on step 3 in NY.

On a side note, no one I work with has even remotely talked about the merger I. Quite some time. Which is refreshing. Totally different than with TWA. There isn't any bitterness thrown our way yet.

 

[Bob Owens]

CASM should stay relatively stable amongst our peers. APA and APFA should end up with industry STANDARD contracts with new low paid employees. AA is hiring 1500 f/a's this year and is going to offer another early out late this year, early next year. Guessing we'll be lucky to get 500 more. Point being that there will be more hiring soon. US is also offering the same early out to their f/a's around the same time. Sounds like they have more than a few that are interested as well. On the pilot side pilots are running up against the age 65 rule and are leaving as we'll. If I remember correctly, US pilots were the instigators to the rule, so they too must be leaving in large numbers soon as we'll. By in large, the amount of hiring for both work groups will continue into the foreseeable future bringing inboard low paid new hires. Maintenance it seems is leaving so fast that they aren't letting people leave with the early out. They are paid so low in some places that they can't get people to apply unless they offer hire pay. I think Bob said they are on step 3 in NY.

On a side note, no one I work with has even remotely talked about the merger I. Quite some time. Which is refreshing. Totally different than with TWA. There isn't any bitterness thrown our way yet.

AA is toast. Normally mergers bring in some young blood. US mechanics average age is 56 and AA is 55. They had 60 vacancies in Ny and were only able to fill half of them, with the majority coming from their own subsidiary, Eagle. While the age problem is not confined to AA the absolute worst contract in the industry will make AA a training ground for the rest of the industry. The young wont stay. Working nights, weekends and Holidays with the possibility of having one Saturday night off per year even at step three will be enough to send many out of the industry entirely. Even the Middle aged guys are looking for ways out. I think you are right about the merger, not much fuss going on about this one because nobody really cares about anything anymore. They are resigned to the fact that things will never get better at AA, only worse. While not as severe as the self inflicted looming pilot shortage yet, mainly because there is no age 65 limit or really much of a limit on hours worked, its here. If mechanics stopped working OT now the industry would be screwed, but because of the massive concessions over the last 10 years we need the OT to get by, but by working the OT we artificially inflate the supply of mechanics labor. As the average age slips towards 60 many will simply stop working OT and the airlines will compete for the very few that are coming out of the schools. Now that the profession has a bad rap as a crappy career its not as if they raise the pay tomorrow all of a sudden thousands of A&Ps will materialize. For many years the number of people gaining their tickets has lagged the number of people leaving. Last time I looked the rate was around 3500 for the entire aviation industry, thats general, corporate and commercial. AA alone attrits out around 500/year since 2003, a rate thats likely to increase along with the average age. While many of the guys I worked with were second generation mechanics thats almost unheard of now. The way most of us look at it, encouraging our kids to go into this industry is simply poor parenting.